Doing Business in Venezuela

Exporting to Venezuela

President Obama announced the National Export Initiative (NEI) http://www.export.gov two years ago, with the goal of doubling exports by 2014. U.S. embassies are committed to supporting U.S. companies to start exporting or grow their exports to Venezuela.

In this section, you’ll find an quick description of Venezuela as an export market and some suggestions for getting started.

Getting Started

1. Review the following resources to get an overview of economic conditions and opportunities.

• Country Commercial Guide
  2012 (Note this year’s guide is currently being updated but will be available here shortly)
  2011
• Market Research Library

2. Contact your local U.S. Export Assistance Center for advice and support on exporting. Contact a Trade Specialist near you for general export assistance (http://export.gov/eac/index.asp).

3. Contact your local Small Business Development Center (SBDCs): Starting a business can be a challenge, but there is help for you in your area.

Small Business Development Centers (SBDCs) are partnerships primarily between the government and colleges/universities administered by the Small Business Administration and aims at giving educational services for small business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs.

4. Contact in-country business support organizations such as the Venezuelan-American Chamber of Commerce.

 
Investing in Venezuela

This section provides information for current and potential investors in Venezuela.

Potential investors: Getting Started

If you are considering investment in Venezuela, here are some steps you may wish to consider as you get started:

• Register with the U.S. Embassy – If you are planning a visit to consider investment, let us know by sending an email to the contact addresses on this page.
• Visit the Embassy of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela in Washington, D.C.
• Contact in-country business support organizations such as the Venezuelan-American Chamber of Commerce.
• Subscribe to our embassy Facebook page or Twitter feed.

Current investors: Staying Connected

If you are a current U.S. investor in Venezuela, the U.S Embassy wants to stay in touch.  Here are a few steps you can take to keep the channels of communication open:

• Register with the U.S. Embassy – If you are active in Venezuela, let us know by sending an email to the contact addresses on this page.
• Add us to your mailing lists – we are always happy to stay informed.
• Subscribe to our embassy Facebook page or Twitter feed.
• Set up a meeting with our economic team to discuss any issues that arise.

Working in Venezuela

In this section you will find information on travel advisories.

Business Visas

For information on obtaining a visa to visit Venezuela, visit the Embassy of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela in Washington, D.C. website.

Travel Advisories

Make sure to check the current State Department travel advisory http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1059.html for Venezuela.

FCPA

The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) is an important anti-corruption tool designed to discourage corrupt business practices in favor of free and fair markets. The FCPA prohibits promising, offering, giving or authorizing giving anything of value to a foreign government official where the purpose is to obtain or retain business.

These prohibitions apply to U.S. persons, both individuals and companies, and companies that are listed on U.S. exchanges. The statute also requires companies publicly traded in the U.S. to keep accurate books and records and implement appropriate internal controls.

More information on the FCPA can be found here: http://www.fcpa.us/

A party to a transaction seeking to know whether a proposed course of conduct would violate the FCPA can take advantage of the opinion procedure established by the statue. Within 30 days of receiving a description of a proposed course of conduct in writing, the Attorney General will provide the party with a written opinion on whether the proposed conduct would violate the FCPA.

Not only do opinions provide the requesting party with a rebuttable presumption that the conduct does not violate the FCPA, but DOJ publishes past opinions which can provide guidance for other companies facing similar situations.

More information on the DOJ opinion procedure can be found here: http://www.morganlewis.com/documents/fcpa/FCPAOpinionProcedureReleases.pdf.